In the horror comic book world, perhaps the most rare–and most prized–talent is a “triple threat”: someone who stands out as a writer, illustrator and editor. Joe Orlando was one of those.
Orlando–who passed away back in 1998–enjoyed a six-decade-long career in the field, highlighted by his stints as associate publisher for Mad magazine and vice president of DC Comics–where he made an indelible mark on horror titles.
Orlando started his creative career at an early age, attending art classes at the age of seven. After spending time as an Army MP, he started studying at the Art Students League in New York City, and began his comics career in 1949 with assignments for the Catholic-oriented Treasure Chest.
Moving ahead to the 1960s, Orlando moved over to Warren Publishing, where he served as an artist and story editor for Creepy.
Orlando’s DC career began in 1968, serving as editor (and sometimes scripter) of such titles as House of Mystery, Swamp Thing and The Witching Hour. He also came up with the unique titles for Weird War Tales and Weird Western Tales.
Orlando also recruited talent for DC’s horror tiles–working with comics legend and DC publisher Carmine Infantino–traveling to the Philippines to bring such standouts as Tony DeZuniga, Alfredo Alcala, Ernie Chan, Alex Nino, Nestor Redondo and Gerry Talaoc into the fold.
The industry recognized Orlando for his distinctive art style with the 1980 Inkpot Award, and he was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2007. He even appeared in a segment of Horror Hall of Fame II, telecast in 1991.
For all these accomplishments, we are recognizing Joe Orlando as the Horror News Network Horror Comic Award Honoree for 2023.
